200 not out for CAFRE Technology Demonstration Farms
December 3, 2021
Technology Demonstration Farms (TDF’s) provide a network of local farms which allow other farmers the opportunity to see new technology and innovations which they could adopt on their own farms. The first TDF’s were appointed in 2019 and since then well over 200 TDF visits have been completed with the 200th recently held on the dairy farm of Conor Casey at Cloughmills in County Antrim.
Conor Casey’s 200 cow dairy farm was appointed as a Dairy Technology Demonstration Farms appointed under the theme of Genetic Selection and Fertility Management.
The Casey family farm is run by father and son team, Cahal and Conor, who manage the Carnhill herd of pedigree Holstein cows, milked on 3 robots, with the replacement heifers contract reared on a local farm. The herd is renowned for quality animals, selling heifers, bulls and cows to local farmers and beyond. Use of genomics has been a big factor in the current success of this herd, which is in the top 10 in the UK, based on PLI and leading to 12 bulls going to AI. Meticulous record keeping and attention to detail has brought this farm to where it is today.
Conor Casey, recently said “As a Dairy Genetic Selection and Fertility Management TDF farmer, I have been pleased to host a series of groups of farmers over the past few months and have really enjoyed the interaction with other farmers who are keen to learn.
I have been a member of my local Business Development Group for a number of years and I really enjoyed the visits that my group made to a number of other farms over the years. I have been a TDF farmer since July 2021 and have enjoyed hosting the visits immensely. I am looking forward to hosting more visits both face to face and online over the months ahead.”
CAFRE has appointed 39 TDFs in total and there are plans to appoint two new Sheep Grassland Management TDFs in the very near future. Details of all of the TDFs and how to book a visit, are available here.
At the moment CAFRE is taking group bookings only by emailing kt.admin@daera-ni.gov.uk
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and the European Union fund the Business Development Groups Scheme and the establishment of Technology Demonstration Farms across Northern Ireland under the Innovation Technology Evaluation Demonstration (ITED) Scheme, as part of the Rural Development Programme.
Further details can be found here.